New regulations for passport photos

From May 1, 2025, new regulations for passport photos will come into force, which will initially only apply to ID documents. Specifically affected are the federal identity card, the passport and the electronic residence permit, or eAT for short.

The usual printed passport photos will no longer be required. In future, passport photos will only be processed digitally and printed photos will no longer be used.

In principle, passport and immigration authorities will be equipped with devices that can be used to produce digital passport photos on site. Bundesdruckerei is currently supplying the necessary technology to around 5,100 passport offices and 550 immigration authorities. It was not possible to launch all authorities at the same time on May 2, 2025. The city of Hof is also still waiting for a specific delivery date for the ordered recording systems. As soon as the service is available at the Bürgerzentrum, Karolinenstraße 40, this will be announced publicly.

Photographers and other service providers who have the necessary technical equipment can continue to take photos for the ID documents. The digital image is uploaded to an encrypted cloud, which the authority accesses via QR code.

Current, existing passport photos in paper form can still be used in exceptional cases up to and including 31.07.2025. After this date, only the new digital procedure is planned. By then, all authorities should be equipped accordingly.